BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Michel Bruneau, PhD, professor of civil,
structural and environmental engineering in the University at
Buffalo's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, is the 2012
recipient of the prestigious American Institute of Steel
Construction (AISC) T.R. Higgins Lectureship Award.

Bruneau is being honored for papers on steel plate shear wall
design published in AISC's Engineering Journal and the proceedings
of the Canadian Conference on Earthquake Engineering.

Each year, the AISC T.R. Higgins Lectureship Award recognizes an
outstanding lecturer and author whose technical paper(s) are
considered an outstanding contribution to the engineering
literature on fabricated structural steel. The award, which
includes a $15,000 prize, will be presented at the 2012 NASCC: The
Steel Conference at the Gaylord Texan Convention Center in Dallas
in April.

"The Higgins jury quickly identified Michel as a top candidate,
and the subsequent discussions and deliberations served to further
elevate him," said Charlie Carter, AISC vice president and chief
structural engineer. "The jury noted in particular the impressive
extent and breadth of Michel's contributions as a researcher and
engineer."

Bruneau's research covers a broad range, from the evaluation and
retrofit of existing steel bridges and buildings subjected to large
destructive forces up to collapse, to the development of new design
concepts capable of providing satisfactory seismic-resistance,
blast-resistance or both simultaneously as multi-hazard resistant
concepts. His research has contributed to the development and
large-scale experimental validation of various energy-dissipating
design concepts to enhance the resilience of structures against
extreme events, such as ductile steel plate shear walls, ductile
bridge diaphragms, tubular eccentrically braced frames, structural
fuses and controlled-rocking piers.

Bruneau is the former director and deputy director of MCEER, the
Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research
headquartered at UB, a national center of excellence in advanced
technology applications dedicated to reducing losses from
earthquakes and other hazards, and to improving disaster
resilience. One of three such centers in the nation established by
the National Science Foundation, MCEER has been funded principally
over the past two decades by the National Science Foundation, the
Federal Highway Administration and others.

Bruneau came to MCEER and UB from the University of Ottawa,
where he headed that institution's Ottawa-Carleton Earthquake
Engineering Research Centre. He is author and co-author of numerous
research articles and one book on earthquake-engineering
principles, and he has participated in several reconnaissance
visits to assess structural damage caused by earthquakes and other
disasters, most recently to Christchurch, New Zealand, following
the earthquake in February 2011. In 2001, Bruneau was part of an
MCEER team that investigated structural damage to buildings near
the World Trade Center towers after their collapse on Sept. 11.

Bruneau is a member of several professional and technical
code-writing committees. His past service to the profession
includes participation in expert peer review panels, project
advisory committees, special project design teams, conference
advisory committees and journal editorial boards. Prior to his
appointment in academia, he practiced as a consultant for
architecture and engineering firms Morrison Hershfield Limited
(Toronto), and Buckland and Taylor (Vancouver).

Bruneau is author and co-author of numerous research articles,
books and book-chapters, and is the lead author of a textbook on
the design of steel structures to resist earthquakes and other
extreme events, as well as two books of fiction. He has received
several awards for his technical work, as well as for his latest
novel.

The AISC T.R. Higgins Award is named for Theodore R. Higgins,
PhD, former AISC director of engineering and research, who was
widely acclaimed for his many contributions to the advancement of
engineering technology related to fabricated structural steel.

Bruneau is a resident of Clarence.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public
university, the largest and most comprehensive campus in the State
University of New York. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their
academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate
and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University
at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American
Universities.

Greg Valentine, professor of geology and director of UB's Center
for Geohazard Studies, is taking full advantage of land owned by
WNY based Calspan Corp. to create singular large scale simulations
of volcanic activity.